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J. E. LEADLEY. I PROCESS OF AND APPARATUs FOR MANUFACTURING GAS. No. 289,280. A Y Patented Nov. 27, 18 83.

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JAE. LPADLEY, I

PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR MANUPAOTURING GAS. N6. 289,280. Patented Nov. 27, 1883.

(No' Model!) 4 ShegtsSheet 4.

. J. E. LEADLEY PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING GAS- N0. 289,280. A ""Pa-tented NOV-.27., 1883.

Mwmw Mango? 7 lJNiT-Eo STATES PATENT Orricng JAMES E. LEADLEY, or onnnnmnnw JERSEY, AssIcNon or ONE-HALF TO. JOHN HANLON, or nnwronn, N. Y.

PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING GAS SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 289,289, dated November 27, 188 1 Application filed June 19, 1883. (No model.)

ToaZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES E. LEADLEY, of Camden, in the county of Camden and 'State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Process of and Apparatus for Manufacturing Gas; and I do hereby declare that the following is'a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which tvillenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference belng had to the accompanying drawings, and

to the lettersof reference marked thereon,

which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to the manufacture of gas by the decomposition of steam, the distillation of bituminous or soft coal, and byoarbureting the gases resulting from such operations with liquid hydrocarbons in a heated vaporizing and mixing chamber, and finally combining and fixing the mixture of gases and vapors in aheated chamber, and thereby forniing a homogeneous gas, suitable forheating or illuminating purposes. The object of themvention is to produce a better operatingappa- 'ratus for distilling the rich illuminating-gases from bituminous coal in a furnace-chamber,

without subjecting the coal to an injuriously- 1 high heat.

The invention is embodied, principally, in the lmproved apparatus, as hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the 1 claims.

The invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings,forming apart of this specification, and in which Figure 1 represents a front elevation of the generatingfurnace. Fig.

2 represents a vertical section through the furnace. Fig. 3 represents a vertical longitudinal section at right angles toFig. 2, through the furnace, the vaporizing and mixing cham- -ber, and the fixingchamben Fig. 4 represents a horizontal section on the line g y of Fig. 3. Fig. 5representsahorizontal section on the line w w of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 represents a top or plan view of the apparatus.

The generatingfurnace A is set upon a brickwork or stone foundation, m. It is constructed of fire-brick and covered by a jacket of riveted plates of boiler-iron, and is divided into two chambers, one above the other.v Thelower chamber, B, is the larger in diameter, and is for decomposing steam, The smaller one, B,

and a water-cooled base, upon which the pivoted revolving plate, carrying the cylinders,

is supported, all as particularly described in a previous application filed May 4, 1883, and

bearing serial number 93,924. The chamber B is provided with a like charging apparatus, 0, mounted upon its top. An air-blast pipe, D, extends vertically up the side of the furnace A, and is provided with a branch, (Z, having a valve which connects with the ashpit of the generating and decomposing chamber B, and a'branch, cl, having a valve which connects with the top of such chamber, and a branch, d, having a valve which connects with the upper part of the coaldistilling chamber B. Steam-pipes E E, having \valves, connect with the base of the decomposingehamber B. The chambers B B have each, near its base, an opening and tight-fitting door for the removal of ashes and coke.

The mixing andvaporizing chamberF is built of fire-brick, supported on the foundation or,

and is covered by riveted plate of boiler-iron.

It is provided internally with baffle-plates f, i

of fire-brick or other suitable material, extending alternately from opposite sides, inclined downward and inward, and overlapping, as shown, to form a zigzag passage for the gases and vapors. This chamber is provided with a smoke-stack, I, having a tight-fitting lid, z, and it is connected to the decomposingchamber 13, near its top by pipe G, having a water-cooled valve, which is described and claimed in a separate application. It is also connected to the coal-distilling chamber B, near its top, by

pipe H. An oil-supply pipe, h, connects with its upper part for discharging hydrocarbon oil on the baffle-plates for enriching the gas from Ioo the generating-chambers. The vaporizing and mixing chamber F connects with the fixing- I pors are also carried over into ehambersFand chamber L by a pipe, K, at the base. Chamber L is constructed of fire-brick covered by riveted plates of boiler-iron, and is provided with a smoke-stack, Z, having a lid or cover, Z. It is also provided with a large central flue, M, Open at the top and connecting at the bottom with a pipe, N, leading out of the chamber. The flue M is provided with a wide spiral flange, m, extending from its outer surface to the inner wall of chamber L, and from bottom to top of the tube. This construct-ion of the tube and flange set in the chamber provides a long spiral passage, with a large heating-surface, for the passage of the gases to be combined and fixed. The pipe N leads to a steam-boiler,

v or directly to a wash and seal box, as preferred.

The air-pipe D also connects by branches D D with the chambers F and L, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, to supply air for supporting combustion in these chambers of gaseous products while heating up the apparatus.

Preparatory to the manufacture of illuminating or heating gas for storage the entire apparatus is heated up by internal combustion. A fire is first kindled in chamber B, and combustion therein is urged by an air-blast till a body of fuel, several. feet thick, composed of coke or anthracite coal, which is gradually fed in, is raised to an incandescent state, and the other chambers-the mixing and vaporizing chamber and thefixing-ehamberare raised to the desired temperature by the combustion, within them, of the hot gaseous products, coir taining a valuable per cent. of carbonic oxide from the fuel in chamber B. The air-blast maybe admitted to the upper portion of cham ber B for burning the carbonic oxide above the fuel for heating chamber B, and after the chamber is partially heated it may be gradually charged with bituminous coal by the charging apparatus G. The gases driven off from this coal while the air-blast is on are burned above the fuel and the hot products of combustion conducted into chamber F through pipe H, and then passed into and through chamber L. Should the combustion of the gases be incomplete in the first chamber, the air-blast may be admitted into the succeeding chambers by opening the valves in branch pipes D D, and combustion therein completed.

During the operation of heating up the apparatus the products of combustion pass off at pipe N, or through either of the smoke stacks I or Z. All of the chambers being heated to the desired temperature and a bed of incandescent fuel obtained in chamber B, all the air-blast pipes are closed by their valves, the smoke-stacks are closed, and steam is admitted by pipes E into the lower portion of the bed of incandescent fuel in chamber B, where it is decomposed. The resulting hot gasesfhydrogen and carbonic oxide) are passed up through the distilling bed of bituminous coal in chamber'B, and carry off the rich carbureted hydrogen gas evolved therefrom. The tarry va L and combinedwith the hydrogen of the decomposed steam, and converted into a fixed gas. Should the gases from the chambers B and B be deficient in illuminating-power, and in case an illuminating-gas of high candle power is desired, then hydrocarbon oil is admitted by pipe it upon the baffle-platesf in the top of vaporizing-chamber F, where it' is vaporized and mingled with the gases resulting from the decomposed steam and that distilled from the coal, and the entiremixture is combined and fixed in chambers Fand L.

The production of gas is continued, as above described, till the bed of fuel in chamber B and the chambers connected therewith are reduced too low in temperature for successful operation. Then the steam and oil are shut off, the lids of the stacks are opened, and the airblasts are again admitted to the various chambers, as desired, for raising the fuel to incandescence and burning the gaseous products in order to heat the chambers. The gaseous products arising from the combustion of fuel in the decomposing-chamber B may be conducted directly into chamber F through pipe Gby opening valve 9. This may be desirable, instead of passing such products through chamber B, and thereby carrying off and burning too large a volume of rich gas from the bituminous coal in such chamber. OhamberB may be newly charged with coal or coke just before orj ust after the air-blast is admitted, and chamber B may receive a fresh charge of bituminous coal 3 ust after the operation of heating up and after the air-blast is shut off, in order to save the rich gases distilled therefrom. In case the coke resulting from the distillation of bituminous coal is not sufficiently decomposed .to fall through the openings in the arch b, it

is removed through the doorwayjust above the arch. During the operation of heating up the apparatus the body of fuel in chamber B may be highly heated by burning the gases at the top of the chamber B, and conducting the resulting hot products of combustion up through the fuel in chamber B, and thence through chambers F and L. In case the fuel in chamber B is thus heated, it serves to convert any carbonic acid that may pass off from chamber B, while steam is being admitted, into carbonic oxide, or to fully decompose any steam which may escape decomposition in the lower bed of fuel. This would be a desirable method of operating when-heating-gas was being manufactured, and in that case no coke need be removed from chamber B.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

1. The process of generating gas, which consists in first raising abody of fuel to an incandescent state by a blast of air, heating a sep arate body of bituminous coal by the resulting hot gaseous products, and burning the gaseous products in the mixing and fixing chambers, then decomposing steam in the first body ameso 3 of incandescent fuel, passing the resulting hot gases through the body of bituminous coal, and thereby distilling and carrying off the carbureted hydrogen therefrom, carbureting the gases with liquid hydrocarbon, and mixing the gases and vapors in a separate chamber, and finally converting them into a fixed gas in a separate heated fixing-chamber.

2. The generatingiurnace, consisting of the upper and lower fuel-chambers, separated by a perforated partition, in combination with the mixing-chamber and the two connecting-pipes -H and I, one from each fuel-chamber, as-de- 4. The generating-furnace, divided into an upper and lower chamber by a perforated partition, in combination with the charging apparatus connected with each, the vaporizing and mixing chamber having an oil-inlet pipe, and a pipe connecting the latter chamber with one of the chambers of the generator, as described.

5. The generating-furnace constructed with two chambers, and provided with air and steam inlet-pipes, in combination with the charging apparatus, the mixing and vaporizing 011211111 ber, the fixing-chamber, and the connectingpipes, as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAS. E. LEAJDLEY.

Witnesses: 4

O. E. DUFFY, B. F. MoRsELL. 

